The air on the back mountain grew colder with every step.
The deeper they went, the quieter it became. No birds, no insects, no sound—only a suffocating silence that pressed in from all sides.
Uchiha Hideki followed half a step behind. Beneath his glasses, his Sharingan activated silently.
The world changed.
Color faded. Light dimmed.
And in its place—
Energy.
The wind was no longer just wind. Gray-black strands drifted through the air like smoke—slow, twisted, almost alive. They carried a suffocating aura of death.
"…Yin energy?"
Hideki's eyes narrowed.
This was nothing like chakra. Chakra was warm, alive.
This—
Was stagnant.
Rotting.
Wherever it lingered, plants withered and life faded.
"Mo," he said quietly. "I found something."
Uchiha Mo stopped instantly.
Hideki pointed ahead. "Residual traces. Footprints. Energy flow… they all lead there. Something moved recently."
He paused slightly.
"…Or it's still there."
Silence followed.
"Well done, Hideki."
Mo's eyes turned crimson. With guidance, he could sense it now as well—and he already knew what awaited them.
If this was the world of Mr. Vampire, then that thing ahead…
Was a zombie.
A being born from death, resentment, and condensed yin energy. Even in a low-level world, it could not be underestimated.
A thought flashed through his mind.
Does corpse energy count as mission energy?
Observation first.
Contact later.
They moved forward.
Slowly. Silently.
Using terrain as cover, they advanced step by step. The closer they got, the denser the energy became, like an invisible vortex pulling everything inward.
Then—
The smell hit them.
Damp soil. Rot. Decay.
At ten meters, they stopped.
Ahead, the shadows thickened.
Something moved.
Slow. Heavy.
Then—
Two dull lights flickered to life.
Eyes.
A wet, gurgling sound followed, as if something dead was trying to breathe again.
From the darkness, it emerged.
A figure—stiff, twisted, dragging its feet across the ground. Its robes were torn and ancient, its skin shriveled into a bluish-green corpse. Its face had already begun to rot, while its nails were black and unnaturally sharp.
Around it, gray-black energy burned like distorted flames.
A zombie.
Uchiha Mo's pupils shrank.
"Back! Keep your distance!"
The moment his voice fell—
It reacted.
It had already smelled them.
Its head snapped toward them, eyes locking on.
Then—
It moved.
Fast.
Too fast.
Its stiff body exploded forward, charging straight toward Mo. Cold wind surged outward as death itself seemed to follow in its wake.
Hideki had already retreated—before the warning had even finished.
His hands formed seals instantly.
Snake.
Ready.
Always ready.
Mo didn't hesitate. He retreated at the same time, his hand flicking forward in a sharp motion.
Whoosh—
A shuriken shot through the air, an explosive tag attached to it, flying straight toward the zombie's chest.
With one hand forming a seal, he muttered—
"Explode."
BOOM—!!
Fire erupted instantly, the shockwave tearing through the area as dust and debris were thrown into the air. Flames roared violently as yang energy surged outward, colliding head-on with the surrounding yin.
But—
The black miasma twisted violently.
Instead of dispersing, it grew even more chaotic.
"ROAR—!"
The zombie burst through the flames.
Its chest was charred, its body cracked—
But it was still moving.
Still attacking.
It didn't slow.
Didn't hesitate.
As expected.
Explosive tags were too weak. They could suppress it—but not destroy it. Its body, tempered by corpse energy, was far tougher than anticipated.
Mo's eyes sharpened as he shifted sideways.
"Hideki! Fire Style—continuous suppression! Burn the miasma!"
"Understood!"
Hideki was already prepared.
His seals formed instantly.
Tiger.
Chakra surged as heat gathered in his chest.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
A massive fireball erupted from his mouth like a miniature sun.
BOOM—!!
Flames engulfed the battlefield.
The zombie halted for a brief moment, instinctively recoiling as the intense yang energy flooded the area. The miasma weakened under the blaze, burning away as it was gradually consumed.
"Now!"
Mo moved.
His hands blurred through a series of seals—faster, sharper, more decisive.
"Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!"
A stream of blazing white fire surged forward, shaped like a roaring dragon as it tore through the air.
Straight toward the zombie.
Now—
Weakened.
Slowed.
Trapped.
And for the first time—
Vulnerable.